


Spiders and Birds

by 1Running_with_the_wolves



Series: Smoke and ashes [1]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Depressed Peter Parker, Friendship, Gen, Hurt, Irondad, PTSD, Peter Needs a Hug, Vigilante, injured, spiderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27017890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1Running_with_the_wolves/pseuds/1Running_with_the_wolves
Summary: Peter Parker had been through a lot. His Parents died, he watched his uncle get murdered, to name a few. But Peter Never expected to face his own death.After the Valture dropped a building on him he isn't quite the same. Will his friends and family be able to help? What about the new vigilante, are they friend or foe?
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Smoke and ashes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988602
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Nightmares

Cold sweat ran down his cheek, dripped off his face, soaked his shirt. 

Peter sat up in bed struggling to catch his breath. "It's just a dream." He whispered to himself over and over again. The thing was it wasn't just a dream, he really had been crushed by a building, he really had no one but himself in that moment, he really had almost died. He slowly counted to ten in his head while he studied his breathing. "It's just a dream."

After calming himself down a bit Peter felt a bit peckish and went to the kitchen for a snack desiding that he would not be going back to sleep anytime soon. 

The wall clock read four o'clock in the morning. Peter picked up an apple and nibbled on it trying to think of nothing else. "It was just a dream." He thought to himself. When that didn't work he turned on the tv and watched the news but hardly focused. It was a while before the news suddenly caught his attention and pulled him away from his panicked state.

"-Eye witness say that a masked figure had stopped the fight. James Harken has more."

The screen then shifted to a man standing on the street, the sky was black.

"I am standing where the crime took place only a few hours ago. Two men were having a loud disagreement outside this club where eye witnesses say they had been in previously."

The news shift to him interviewing a couple.

"We had been in there for drinks when we heard the shots fired. And my sister being the reporter she is went running out. I of course ran after her to stop her. When I got outside there was a person in a black costume who had broken the gunman's arm and had been trying to address the other man's wounds."

The screen then flashed back to the newsroom.

"The man now identified as Marcus Theo is now in custody for attempted murder. We still have no information about the victim. Now over to Kelly with weather."

Peter stopped playing attention. He originally felt guilty for not being there to stop it, but after it turned into confusion. Who was this masked vigilante, and was he a criminal.

Peter's thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps from behind him.

"Peter what are you doing up so early?" May ask concerned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes."it's five in the morning." 

Peter who had now forgotten even having a nightmare rushed into telling what he had heard on the news, not leaving out a detail.

"Peter I love you, but this doesn't explain why you are awake." 

Peter's excitement wore off and he was then overcome by the flashes of the dream he still remembered. "It's just a dream."

"I-I wanted a snack." He said honestly. He had left his room for a snack her reasoned with himself.

"Peter your beginning to worrying me. This is the third time this week that you are out here so early. Have you been going on patrols?"

"No, May I swear I am fine." Peter then gave her a week smile.

"Okay." May said unconvinced. "I am going to go back to bed, I have a late shift today."

"Night aunt May." Peter said and turned his attention to the news. Not ten minutes later he got a call from Tony. 

"Hey kid how's it going?" Tony asked sleepiness apparent in his voice. Peter rolled his eyes.

"I am fine Mr Stark." Peter answers.

"Why are you awake at five in the morning?" 

"Why are you awake at five in the morning?" Peter asked back knowing the answer. "Aunt May called you?"

"She is just worried about you kid, to be honest so am I. You're the boy who wasn't going to go to Germany because you had homework."

"School is important Mr. Stark." Peter said a grin on his face. Tony let out an exasperated sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Alright kid. If you need to talk about anything I am here for you. So is your aunt."

"I know." Peter said softly. Peter knew they would listen to all his problems but he felt like a burden whenever he did. "Thanks Mr. Stark."

"Bye Peter." He said and then added quickly. "Go back to sleep kid." 

Peter said he would then hung up. Peter went to his room knowing that Tony probably would report back to aunt May, and aunt May would check on him. He the sat down on his bed and played Angry Birds Star Wars. 

When it was seven his alarm went off. Peter put down his phone, after playing on it for hours, and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. He then put on a red hoodie and jeans. He then left his room and poured himself a bowl of cereal. 

"Good morning." May said already fully dressed for work. "I am going to be late tonight so Tony has voluntarily invited you to hang out with him after school."

"Voluntarily." Peter mumbled under his breath. "Okay. Have a nice day at work."

"Hey and Peter, no running after mysterious vigilantes." Peter said he wouldn't and crossed his fingers behind his back. 

Peter then finished getting ready for school and walked there with Ned. 

Peter enjoyed the compony of Ned who wasn't constantly asking if he was okay. Peter wondered if this was how Annie from smooth criminal felt. 

"I got a computer building set and was wondering if you wanted to come over after school to build if?" Ned asked happily.

"Actually Happy is picking me up today." Peter answered. "But I swear if you haven't built it tomorrow I will help you, as long as you help me as the guy in the chair tonight."

Peter then launched into the news story again with Ned excitedly interrupting every now and then. 

They then planned their evening through the whole school day.


	2. Panic

"Hey Peter, get in!" Happy called impatiently waiting inside the car that was pulled up next to the school. 

Peter waved goodbye to Ned and MJ then sat in the car. Peter, feeling tiered from school and the lack of sleep, went to close his eyes for a short nap expecting Happy to be quiet the whole drive like usual. This time Happy did not.

"How are you?" Happy asked. Peter opened his eyes and softly sighed annoyed. Why was everyone so curious all the sudden.

"I'm fine Happy." He plastered on a smile. "Did you hear that there is a new vigilante-"

"I heard." Happy said. "A person saving another person one time isn't a vigilante Peter." 

"He was wearing a mask." Peter argued. "Who just goes around wearing a mask."

Peter was going to continue his poin when Happy grew tiered of the conversation so he rolled up the window between them. Peter once again closed his eyes. 

He quickly reopened them. He hadn't even fallen asleep yet but he still felt trapped, alone, dying. He pulled out his phone and messaged Ned about their plans. 

When he looked in his black phone screen he froze for a moment. Under his eyes were dark. He went to his camera to see how bad he looked, suddenly he knew why everyone was asking.

However he could do nothing at the time so he messaged Ned and did his homework.

After about a half hour of traffic and Happy cursing other drivers they finally arrived at their destination. Peter pulled his backpack out of the car, thanked Happy, then went inside the building.

Everyone let him by without thinking. Everyone knew Peter. Peter was walking to the elevator when someone called out his name. He turned to see Pepper waving and running to catch up with him.

"Hey Peter, how are you?" Peter was getting very tired of people asking him that.

"I'm fine, how are you?" 

"I am great thanks for asking." Pepper smiled kindly. "I have a meeting, do you mind my joining you in the elevator?"

"It's yours and Mr. Stark's building." Peter laughed. "Of course you can join me."

The elevator opened and the two of them got in. It started to rise when Peter suddenly started to panic. 

He was trapped. No that was just a dream. But it wasn't! But you're just in an elevator. But-

His breathing became staggered. His eyes were filled with fear. Pepper noticed this.

"Peter are you okay?" Pepper asked urgently. "Peter?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, he didn't respond. "Friday?"

"Peter appears to be having a panic attack. I would suggest calming him down. Should I inform boss?"

"Yes." Pepper then turns to Peter and speaks softly. "Hey you're okay. Peter you are in an elevator with me. Tony will be here in a moment." 

Peter's breathing was still staggered but he was aware of what was going on and started to calm down. He was taking the stairs next time. 

By the time Tony got there Peter was almost back to normal. Peter suddenly became aware that he was sitting on the elevator floor. 

"Pete you alright there?" Tony asked. Peter turned to see Tony sitting next to him. Peter nodded. Tony stood up and helped Peter get back on his feet.

"Sorry." Peter said weakly.

"It's not your fault." Tony Rubbed Peter's back and gestured for Pepper to leave. "Do you have any idea what triggered your panic attack?"

"I hate small spaces." Peter said softly. Tony nodded and pushed no further. The two of them left the elevator and slowly walked down the hallway.

"Your aunt told me you saw something interesting on the news." Peter's face was instantly bright as he started to tell the story not pausing to breathe and ended up breathless at the end of it.

"A new vigilante huh." Tony said after listening to the kid's rant. "Maybe he will give you a run for your money."

Peter smiled happily as he continued to talk about the possibility of a team up. 

"What if this new "hero" is actually a crazy criminal." Tony points out. "He could be dangerous."

"Who could be dangerous?" Bruce asked as he walked into view. 

"A new vigilante Mr Banner." Peter said almost bouncing with excitement.

"Spider-Man?" Bruce asked. "The guy you got to fight with us in Germany?"

"No someone else Peter saw on the news." Tony said. 

"Why would Spider-Man be dangerous?" Peter asked. Tony stepped lightly on Peter's toe. Bruce didn't notice this.

"We hardly know anything about him, that makes him a threat. The only person who knows anything refuses to say anything." Tony looked annoyed.

"Well I made a deal with the guy." Tony defended himself. "Anyway, Peter, you had a science project you needed my help on?"

"Oh-oh yeah!" Peter said remembering that they were working on his new suit as well as improving the web fluid that he was using. "Nice to see you Mr. Banner."

Tony and Peter worked in silence, well as quiet as it could be with AC/DC and Black Sabbath playing. They work for hours until Friday informed them that Pepper was wondering what they wanted for dinner. The two agreed on pasta and went back to work until they were called. 

The dinner was filled with light conversation and the clatter of utensils on plates. Peter noticed Pepper worriedly glancing at him every few minutes. Eventually he grew tired and spoke. 

"I am a bit claustrophobic." Peter said at a point when no one was talking. They stayed silent and looked at him waiting for him to continue. "I have always hated being in closed off spaces but I have never had a panic attack. I didn't think to worry about it. Sorry."

"Peter no one is upset with you." Pepper said gently.

"We were just worried about you kid." Tony continued. "It's completely normal to have panic attacks from time to time. I have had plenty myself."

"Really?" Peter asked having a hard time picturing his roll model being scared of anything.

"Yeah." Tony admitted and put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "You can talk to me about it, I understand." 

Peter nodded and for a moment thought about telling him about the building but then reconsidered it. 

"Thanks Mr. Stark." Tony shook his head lightly when called Mr Stark but said nothing.

"Anytime kid."


	3. Vigilante

After dinner Peter got a text message from Ned saying he was ready to be the "Guy in the chair". Peter, not wanting Tony to stop him, made an excuse.

"Thanks for dinner guys." He smiled. "I am getting really tired though so I think I am going to swing ho-"

"Nope." Tony interrupted rejecting the idea of Peter going home immediately. "If you want you can sleep in a space room. We should really make you a room for when you come here. You could also have coffee-"

"Tony you are not giving him a caffeine addiction." Pepper said giving Tony a look. "I can get a room set up." 

Pepper dismissed herself to do so before Peter could even say no. 

"Do you want coffee while she is gone?" Tony asked in a hushed joking voice. Peter politely rejected. Peter's leg bounced under the table. 

"Kid is something upsetting you?" Tony asked noticing Peter's distracted look. "Peter I am worried about you. I hear your not sleeping full night, and that you have been getting a few bad grades. You haven't been the same since homecoming. Did something happen? I know it must have been hard to fight your date's old man but is there anything else upsetting you- and don't say you're fine, I know better."

"I-" Peter tried not to make his relief so apparent when Pepper interrupted. She said that she had a room ready and Peter jumped at the chance to escape the conversation. 

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about it, he did, the thing was that the moment he told anyone about it they wouldn't let him be Spiderman anymore. For him Spiderman was not only the ability to help people. It was a way for him to feel like he could handle anything, spiderman was strong and nothing could stop him, Peter Parker was just a weak teenager. At least that was how Peter saw it.

After Pepper lead him to his room, a large bedroom with a huge tv and a king sized bed, she left him to get rest. Peter quickly changed into his spandex suit. 

________

'Boss.' Friday's mechanical voice rang from the ceiling. 'Underoos is getting ready to jump out of his window.'

Poor Tony's heart skipped a beat. He jumped to his feet and ran into Peter's room without knocking. He sighed in relief. Peter had changed into his suit and was planning on sneaking out. He felt a mixture of Pride, worry, and anger at that moment. Pride because Peter was being rebellious, worry because Peter felt like he needed to sneak out, and anger that his kid lied. 

"Peter." He said his voice on the edge of anger. Peter looked out the window for a moment before walking to Tony. "Where you planning on going?"

"Tofindthenewhero." Peter mumbled.

"What?"

"To go find the new hero." Peter said louder this time. 

"Peter." Tony said his voice calmer. "You could have just said. I am not going to stop you, but I don't encourage talking to him if you see him. He's only appeared once kid, this could even be some news lie. Trust me the news isn't the most honest thing."

"Wait, but your not stopping me?" Peter asked confused. 

"You have to be back by 9:30." Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't start any fights." 

"I won't! Thanks Mr. Stark!" Peter then jumped out the window and swung on a web. Tony laughed at the kid's enthusiasm.

______

"No I'm Ravenclaw." Peter argued with Ned over the comms.

"Peter you are definitely Hufflepuff." Ned laughed. "Come on we are Hufflepuff buddies!"

"I am more Ravenclaw Ned, sorry." Peter laughed. Oh wait." Peter heard gunshots. He began swinging the way the sound was coming from. "Where are the gunshots coming from Ned?"

"There coming from 9608 queens Blvd, a Pizza place." Ned said. "Didn't Mr. Stark tell you not to start any fights?"

"He said don't start them, doesn't mean I can't end them." Peter then walked into the Pizza place.

"Hurry up Clark, the coppers will be here any minute now!" a man holding the gun said to his friend who was grabbing the money. 

"You know it's not very nice to steal." Spiderman said walking in. The man quickly grabbed one of the staff members who were being held hostage and pointed a gun at her head. 

"Put your on the ground and no funny business or she dies." He said. His friend looked up for a moment before putting all the money in his bag. Peter did as told. 

"You don't want to hurt her." Spiderman said his voice calm. "I get it, it's hard to get money, but stealing isn't the way neither is killing people." 

The gunman points his gun at Peter. 

"Your really getting on my nerves." He goes to pull the trigger when it is shot out of his hand. Peter quickly uses the opportunity to web both the criminals up. A person jumps through an open window into the building. 

Peter turn to get a good look at the person. The person looked exactly as described on the news, a black leather jacket and leather pants, a black mask covering the top of the face except for the eyes. Peter then noticed something else, in was not a man'a body but a short woman's. she had shoulder length brown hair, her eyes was a dull blue. Her eyes look alerted when she saw Peter web up the two men.

"Hi!" Peter said friendly. She tilted her head slightly and examined him, although she couldn't see him well his mask made it easy to see his expression. 

"Your a kid." She stated her voice had a hint of a Russian accent. Peter wasn't sure what to do.

"Your a girl." He blurted out. The Pizza place guy laughed.

"I am going to make you two a pizza, what do you want on it?" The man asked his workers all going back to their places, the one staying behind to put the money back in the till. 

"No thanks." The girl said and left quickly out the door. Peter asked for a cheese Pizza with alfredo sauce. After getting it he thanked the man and went back to the tower after dropping off at Ned's to give him half the pizza.


	4. Tolstoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I discovered the writer, Leo Tolstoy, in a muddy ditch that held more blood than rain. One of the soldiers loved his words— and then, so did I. “All, everything that I understand,” he wrote, “I understand only because I love." That was so many years ago. But words on a page didn’t teach me that lesson. I learned it on my own. I learned it in trenches with bullets flying overhead; pressed back to back with grizzled starving men who would have laid down their lives for mine. I learned it from a ribbon tied around my ring finger. I learned it from a kick inside my belly. I learned it from death, and hardship, and brief acts of inexplicable kindness. I learned love from sacrifice. I learned love from living. And no matter where I’ve gone, or what I’ve done— all the dark things I do not regret, but will never speak of— that is the one part of me that I have always kept safe. "
> 
> -Black Widow #5

"That's so awesome!" Ned said excitement radiating off him. The two of them had a lunch break and were talking about the events from the previous night. "Do you think you guys will ever team up like a crossover or something."

"I don't know." Peter said, deep in thought. "She didn't even stay for-" He stopped as they got to the cafeteria. "Who is that with MJ?"

Ned turned to see a boy with sandy brown hair and a girl with red-brown hair. All three of them had a sketch book. The two of them walked up to the table.

"Hey Losers." MJ said looking up from her book only for a moment. "This is Ember and David, we are in art class together. Ember, David, Ned and Peter."

David said hello, shook their hands, then went back to his book. Ember just mumbled a response not even looking up. 

Peter and Ned stood there for a moment not knowing if they could sit or not. MJ responded like she read their minds.

"You guys can sit." She said looking up. She then noticed the dark purple colour under Peter's eyes. "You okay Peter? You look like shit."

"Thanks MJ." Peter joked and just sat down not answering. "What are you guys drawing?"

"Our teacher is a therapist not an artist!" The boy, David, complained. Peter let out a sigh of relief. "He wants us to draw internal conflicts."

His book was opened to a page filled with splotches of red and green fighting each other. MJ's had two people chocking each other. And Ember's had a woman, half of her was dark and had bruises on it, the other was bright and had sleek hair and blushing cheeks.

Peter had wanted to tell MJ about his patrol, since MJ told Ned that she thought Peter was spiderman and Ned didn't deny it he actually made it quite clear with his shock, but with the two others there he couldn't. He and Ned ate their food in silence, only once or twice saying something. 

_____________  
_____________

Peter jumped when the school bell rang at the end of the day. He exited his class and checked his phone for messages. There was only one from May that said she had an extra shift and that there was leftovers in the fridge. He went to meet up with MJ and Ned outside the school where they usually met before walking home together. MJ was already there complaining to Ned.

"He said that hers was a true representation of international conflict. "Mine had people strangling each other, you can't get more conflict than that!"

"MJ lost to the girl that she was sitting with." Ned filled Peter in. Peter nodded, though he was not playing much attention. He wondered why May had been working so much more lately, they had enough money that they weren't worried. 

Peter's mind kept saying that she was avoiding him, but he did his best to ignore it. He had been in thought and didn't hear MJ calling him until she waved her hand in his face.

"Earth to Peter." She said as Peter snapped out of his thoughts. Peter responded. "I was asking how patrol went last night?"

He and Ned launched into the story. MJ nodded along as she listened to them tell their story. 

"So she is real." MJ stated after. "And you are sure she isn't a criminal?"

"She seemed nice to me." Peter answered. 

"So did Obadiah Stane, he was Tony Stark's Stepdad or something. But years ago he got Tony Kidnapped, and when that failed he tried to kill him. Everyone thought he was a good man, until he stabbed them in the back by selling weapons to terrorist ."

"I am sure she isn't like that." Peter defended the girl.

"Is this because she is a-" MJ quickly stopped talking when she saw Ember run up to her.

"You forgot your book!" She said in a thick Russian accent and pulled out 'Of war and peace' out of her backpack. "Tolstoy, an interesting read. Of war and Peace is one of my favourite book, it's quite interesting. The character of Natasha Rostova is my favourite. Tolstoy will live forever through his books." She hauled realizing she was ranting. "Sorry. I just finished the book."

She handed the book to MJ. MJ smiled. The girl turned to the two boys.

"Sorry I wasn't able to talk with you at lunch, I had to finish my work. I am Ember Winters by the way. I moved here from Russia a few years ago but I learned from home until this year." 

"Your English is very good." Ned said politely. She paled slightly. 

"Thanks, I must go!" She said running off. 

"She seemed nice." Peter said looking at MJ for more information. "How'd the two of you meet?"

"She was being harassed by some girls so I helped her out. She is a strange person though. We will be in the middle of a conversation and she will seem startled, almost scared, and then she will leave for no reason." 

Peter felt like there was something farmiliar about her but couldn't place his finger on it. He shrugged it off.


	5. Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fear is the greatest weapon

"Peter can I talk to you for a moment." May called to Peter who was playing on his phone. 

"Coming aunt May." Peter said turning off his phone. When he got to the living room he saw his aunt sitting on the couch looking very serious.

"Hey, what's up?" Peter asked cautiously. 

"Peter please sit down." May asked, gesturing to the chair. Peter sat down slowly. "I know you don't want to talk about whatever is upsetting you but this has gotten out of hand. Peter you wake up far too early, you don't eat enough, and you look sick."

"Aunt May I'm fi-"

"I want you to see a therapist." May said bluntly. "If you are uncomfortable talking to me or Tony then you need to talk to someone. Don't worry I have the money to pay for it, I just want you to get better."

"May I'm okay. I swear." Peter tries but May's look told him she didn't buy it.

"How about this, you go and I won't make Tony take away your suit." May said. If she was bluffing she didn't show. Peter begrudgingly agreed. 

________________

Peter went patrolling that night while May looked for therapists. She was leaning towards Samuel Willis. 

Peter swung from building to building the wind blowing past calming his nerves. Ned had been busy with a family reunion that night so Peter was alone with his thoughts. 

The first half of his patrol was quiet. There was little to do but help elderly people across the street. Peter kept an eye out for the mysterious girl. He hadn't seen her the last few days after meeting her at the pizza place. 

All things come to an end though. He had been debating going home early after seeing nothing before a man on the ground started calling him. Peter's senses started going crazy, but still he went down to investigate.

"Good evening Spider-Man." He said, his voice filled with a sickly sweet sound. Peter looked the man over. He was about fifty years old and had thinning white hair, his teeth were yellow, and his eyes a dark grey. He looked like he was no threat.

"Hello!" Peter said cheerfully even though he felt uncomfortable. "What's your name?" 

"It does not matter." Before Peter could react the man stabbed him in the side with a long, sharp, Needle. Peter was confused when he felt unaffected.

"You do know that I have an extremely fast metabolism. Your drugs won't-" The buildings all started to lean in towards him, folding, bending, breaking. Peter struggled to breathe normally. Suddenly he saw two faces he thought he would never see again.

"Hey it's my boy!" Peter's father, Richard said smiling, his wife had a worried but smiling expression. "Me and you mom are going to be gone for business. We will be back in a couple of days."

"No please don't go." Peter pleaded as he did that night, but now he knew that they wouldn't come back. Richard and Mary did not listen and walked away as they slowly evaporated into dust. Another person appeared in their place.

"Kid I am leaving." Tony Stark announced. "I'll be back next month."

"No." The words were caught in his throat. His eyes were full of tears, he was now hardly breathing. "Please don't leave me."

Tony walked away and just like his parents evaporated into nothingness.

"Spiderman listen to me." A voice rang in his ears from some unseen person. "This is all an illusion. You were injected with a drug that causes you to see what you fear. I need you to breath, okay?"

Peter nodded and mumble something. Tears stung his eyes that were trapped in his suit. He wrapped his arms around himself protecting himself.

"I am going to count slowly until you breathing is at a normal pace, alright? 1-2-3-" She continued counting until 95 when she was sure he was breathing properly. 

When the visions finally stopped he turned to see the female vigilante standing next to him, her eyes wide with concern.

"You alright there spiderman." She asked when she was sure he was able to speak.

"Yeah." His voice felt like it wasn't his own. He felt so disconnected from his body. His hands were still trembling, his breath had no normal pattern. 

"His name is Tobias Robins." She explained. "The man who gave you the needle is what I like to call a mad scientist. He was fired from S.A.M.T Labs. He was fired after preforming exparments on his own children, they are now in child protective services. He was building genetic weapons for the military at the time. I have been chasing him down for months, I almost had him tonight."

Peter had a guilty look. 

"But none of that matters, are you sure you are okay? I have been hit with those drugs more times than I can count on my hands." 

"Yes." Peter said Numbly. Suddenly there was an ironman suit flying above him. The girl bowed slightly and ran into the shadows. Tony flew down and the moment he touched the ground Peter had him in a hug.

"Peter are you okay?" Tony asked concerned, patting Peters back awkwardly. "I would have been here sooner but I was in a meeting and Friday didn't alert me."

"I'm fine, some guy drugged me and I saw-Stuff." Peter said, his voice hoarse still clutching the ironman suit as though it was a life line. Tony nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tony asked softly.

"Can you take me home please?" Peter asked pleadingly.

"Sure thing kiddo." Tony said giving Peter a concerned look. This was the boy who would stitch up his own gun wounds. He then flew Peter home. The moment Peter got to his room he broke down and curled himself into a small ball.


	6. Sober

Peter didn't remember when he fell asleep, but when he awoke his back was stiff and his neck ached. He sat up slowly from where he was curled up on the floor and took calming breaths. 

After a moment he stood up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. He turned his attention to his suit that was pressing tightly against him. He had forgotten to change from his spiderman suit. Sighing he changed into a pare of Jeans and a grey shirt that said "if you believe in telekinesis raise my hand". 

After dressing he turned on his phone to check the time. He sighed when he saw that it was ten and he over slept. After running his hand through his hair he left his room and headed to the kitchen where May was making breakfast.

"Hey Peter, you okay?" She asked when she saw him enter the room. 

"Fine." He answered. 

"Tony brought your home from patrol, did you get hurt? He didn't say anything." 

"I got drugged," Peter said quietly. May gave him a panicked look so he added."nothing to worry about. I'm fine now, really." 

"What kind of drugs? Did Tony give you blood work? I thought-" May was interrupted by Peter. 

"It was a bit of a blur. Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure." She said softly although she was typing furiously on her phone. "I hope you are hungry I made plenty of pancakes." 

Peter smiled brightly. His mouth watering at the food that was being put on his plate. Once he was served he poured far too much maple syrup on his pancakes and put whipped cream on top of that. May smiled softly seeing that his apatite was good for the moment. Once he was halfway through his food May took the chance to talk.

"I would like you to see the therapist I found tomorrow. It's very hard to get any appointment with a therapist and this is something that would help you." May said quickly not giving Peter the opportunity to interrupt. Peter who at that moment had his mouth full of whipped cream and pancake just sat there trying to take his sweet time before swallowing, thinking about what to say. After five minutes he finally swallowed.

"Alright." Peter said begrudgingly. He was only doing this so May would stop worrying. Plus the therapist would think he was fine and everyone would stop worrying. May smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

"By the way Tony is coming over later to do some blood work, just to check whatever drug you encountered." She said looking at her phone. "I should be going. I have a shift in twenty minutes I'll be late for." May placed a kiss on Peter's temple, and took one last bite of food before going out the door. 

The moment the door shut Peter pushed his food away finding himself no longer hungry. Since today was Saturday he got all his homework done and clean up the kitchen. After that he watched TV until there was a knock on the door. 

Peter answered it and Tony stood there with Happy behind him holding a bunch of technical stuff. 

"Hey kid." He said softly. "Your aunt messaged me with some violent language for not running blood tests on you. So me and Happy are here to satisfy your aunt and make sure your not dying." 

Peter laughed slightly bringing a small smile to Tony's face. Tony took a few containers of blood to run as many tests possible on them. After setting everything up all that was needed was to wait.

"Next time a criminal tries to drug you call me. I don't want you opinion on drugs to be bad. Not that they are good ether! Don't do drugs and stay in school."

"Did you?" Peter smiled innocently. Tony laughed and put him in a headlock and rubbed his hair. Peter squirmed and laughed. After a few minutes of this Tony let Peter go. 

"What happened yesterday buddy?" Tony asked suddenly very serious. "Did the person try to take advantage of you?" Peter shook his head no. "Did he try to kidnap you or take off your mask?" Peter once again shook his head. "What happened then?"

"He-he gave me a drug that made me visualize my worse fears. I-I saw my Parents leaving and- I saw y- I watched other people die." Peter stopped himself from telling Tony he was the person who died. What if he thought it was weird? What if he didn't want to talk to him again? Peter's mind raced.

Tony wrapped his arm around Peter who had pulled himself into a ball, his breathing slightly ragged. Happy stood there, sure he wasn't supposed to hear that. After a concerned look towards Peter, he messaged May about what happened. 

A ding rang out starting all three of them. Tony dismissed himself to check the results. Happy sat on the couch and awkwardly patted Peter on the back, who jumped slightly. Peter's breathing had gotten under control. Suddenly Tony cursed.

"Peter there isn't a trace of the drug in your blood. Usually, with the exception of some drugs, it's in your blood for about 15 hours after. With this giving you hallucinations I would think that it would still be in your blood but there is nothing, nada, zip." 

"It's probably because of metabolism." Peter said, his voice quivering still. "I can't take pain medication anymore because my system burns through it so fast." Tony looked thoughtful for a moment. 

"You know kid you might be the key to helping people with addictions." Tony said pulling out a peace of Paper and doing complex math and algorithms. "If we can isolate what causes you to have a fast metabolism we can get the drugs or alcohol out of people's blood without them going through withdrawal symptoms." 

"That could work!" Peter said looking over Tony's shoulder, the two men began studying the blood more, mixing in with alcohol and seeing how it reacts. The two of them did this for hours, only stopping for snacks or coffee that Happy brought to them. They continued until May came home at 9 pm. Tony, who had not noticed the time, then said goodbye to Peter and said he was going to continue the research in the lab. 

Peter had been so distracted he almost forgot about the therapist. Almost. He took forever to fall asleep and awoke at five from nightmares. This was almost a daily thing now so he didn't even bother trying to sleep again.  
_____________

At 3:30 pm the next day May drove him to his therapist who was working from his house.

May offered to go in with him but he rejected. She let him out and drove away promising to be back within an hour. 

When Peter knocked he was called to come in by someone from another room, a woman he believed. When he walked in he noticed the emptiness of the room. The entrance lead directly into a living room that aside from a few blankets on the floor and a couch that looked like it was from the side of the road was empty.

Peter was so busy looking around that he didn't notice the person at the door until his senses went off as a woman walked into the room.

"You must be Peter? Samuel should be out in a moment." Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, the woman he worked with and against, said standing only a few feet away from Peter.


	7. Rebels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revised version of charper 7

Peter stood there frozen in place, his heart skipping a beat at the sigh of the person in front of him. His breath hitching in his throat. He could run, if he had to. But they didn’t know about his secret identity, about Spider-man, right? They wouldn’t attack him.

"Yeah, that's me." He said staring at the ground, trying to hide the panic in his voice, as the tone grew a little louder. "Your the Black Widow?".

He studied her for a moment. Her hair was dyed blonde now, unlike the fiery red haired she had in Germany. She wore a black t-shirt and had the tattoo of a spider on her wrist. She laughed lightly.

"Oh yes, I am on a secret mission though so don't tell anyone where I am." She said smirking at him, with a tight smile. She was a great lier. Her years of practice evident. Peter bit the inside of his cheek. He wondered if he could get away to call Tony but he was sure that she was watching him too closely for him to even get a text message out.

"Of course." Peter nodded seriously. He knew the government where looking for the rouges. They hadn’t been spotted in a long time, but of course the public didn’t know that. Peter, wasn’t supposed to know that. But he understood their need for silence and secrecy. He’d been running around with his own mask on for a while.

He understood.

Something about that was unsettling. These were the bad guys right? 

Only moments later, Peter became aware of the loud thud of footsteps. And hushed discussion, halfway under someone breath, in a nearby room. His enhanced hearing and sense, making it impossible not to notice as the vibrations came closer to a nearby door.

"Sam do you know how stupid this is!" A sharp, deep, voice said. That Peter could only identify as Captain America. Peter felt his stomach twist at the thought of the fight in Berlin. The weight of the bridge falling towards him, the only thing saving him being his spidey sense and strength. He could still feels his muscles tighten under the weight, his arms growing week. A panicked part of him, told him to run. Get out. Now. Right now. But he know that wouldn’t be smart. Peter let’s his feet be like glued to the wooden floors and tried to calm his rapid breathing. 

"We are living off scraps Steve and you refuse to let us get money other ways." Sam shot back. Samuel Willis, Peter wished he had noticed the name sooner. It was obvious when he though about it.

"Hey Sam, Parker is here to see you!" Natasha yelled sharply, breaking up the argument between Sam and Steve. There was a bit of shuffling, a few quite whispers and swears, before Sam came into the room. Peter felt his body back away slightly. A desperate need to get away from the man. 

"Hi! You must be Peter." Sam said a friendly voice, nothing like it’d been in at the airport. 

"There’s usually not this much talking in a battle." The memory of the events clear in his mind rang out. 

"Please come in, sit down” Sam gestured to the ratty couch in a different room and Peter followed him in. It looked a bit nicer than the last, but not by much. "I am Sam, and I am here to talk. Your mom called me and-"

"My aunt" Peter corrected automatically. May had been confused for his mother many times, but she wasn’t. Peter felt bad, and nauseous every time someone thought that. "My Parents are dead” he whisper with a sigh".

"I am sorry to hear." Sam said sincerely, looking Peter in the eyes. His voice was soft. It was almost unsettling to see him not fighting, but kind and caring. "How long ago was that?"

"I was six." He answered. He felt intimidated but also trust to this person, who two years ago may have killed him. "It was a long time ago now."

"Ah." Sam saw Peter wanted to change the topic. Sam made a note to come back to the subject another time and to move on. "So why do you think your aunt wanted you to come here?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Peter asked remembering his aunt told him she would explain everything to the therapist before he went.

"I want you to tell me why you are here." Sam said warmly. Peter was feeling more and more confused about why they attacked their friends. They seemed so nice, although he only met Sam and Natasha (who Peter will admit being scared of) they seemed okay. 

"It's because I haven't been sleeping." Peter answered honestly. He wondered how much he could add without revealing who he was. "I also had a panic attack at a friend's house."

"I see." Sam nodded thoughtfully. "Why do you think you had that panic attack, was there anything that could have triggered it?" 

"I've been getting claustrophobic ever since-" Peter paused for a moment. He questioned himself slightly. He felt like he should run, but something else was telling him to talk. "I got trapped."

"That sounds like an anxiety attack." Sam said softy noticing Peter not wanting to say anything more he didn't push. "How does thinking or talking about this incident make you feel?" 

"Trapped." Peter's breathing became unstable and the small room started to feel like it was closing in on him, trapping hi-

"Peter Listen to my voice alright." Peter weakly nodded. That was good, Sam thought. "I need you to match my breathing." Sam over exaggerated his own breathing. Peter, while his breathing was still a bit off, followed along until he was finally calm enough.

"Sorry." Peter choked out the words. Sam rubbed his shoulder gently and the returned to his seat.

"It's not your fault." Sam said looking Peter directly in the eyes. Peter looked down quickly. 

"I know." Peter said, this time almost believing it. 'It's your friend's fault,' Peter wanted to say.

"How about something easier." Sam said watching Peter closely. "It will be easy. I will say one word and without speaking you will say another, the first thing that comes to mind." Peter nodded. "Red."

"Spiderman." Sam smiled at the innocents Peter had when he said it. 

"Danger." 

"Dodge." 

"Safe."

"Home."

"Trapped."

"Bridge." Peter's voice was shaky. Sam was confused why bridge came to mind.

"Family."

"Love." 

"Fear."

"Weakness." Sam stopped and wrote something down. A ding on Peter's phone rang and Peter hastily pulled it out.

"Is everything alright?" Sam asked. Peter flinched slightly.

"Yes." Peter said closing his messages with Tony. "My aunt is coming to pick me up. Thanks for this but I really need to go."

Multiple dings can from his phone and then a call, his ringtone an AC/DC song.

"I got to- bye!" Peter rushed out of the house and across the street to answer his call. 

'Peter are you okay? Are you-'

"I am fine Mr. Stark." Peter said his voice quiet. He started to walk away from the house in the direction he was sure May had drove down. 

'Do they know who you are? Kid you can't just message me stuff like that without more information. You left the moment you saw them right? Please tell me you didn't talk to them.'

"Well-" Tony sighed loudly on the other end.

'Get home as soon as possible then give me the address. Be careful Pete."

Peter said goodbye and hung up the phone. He then called May to pick him up.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading please subscribe and Kudos for more. Also give me your honest opinions, if you hate it let me know how to make it better. 
> 
> Love you all!  
> -Midnight


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